The Score
by Fairylust
Summary: !Genderbender! Crona is feeling sad so Mako tries to cheer her up by inviting her to play some softball. Of course Raraka suspects he's just in this to score and with their friends a bit of mischeif is bound to occur. In the end will Crona make her feelings known? Will Mako score or strike out? One-shot!


**The Score**

Salty tears rolled down her pallid cheeks. She sniffled as she recalled the earlier words spoken that very same day, _You don't matter to anyone. _A whiny voice echoed accompanied by a smokey female one,_ Things would be so much better around here if you died! _Crona hadn't been very well liked since her arrival at the school, but nobody had been that mean to her before. Then again, maybe that was just because Blue*Star had once loudly announced that she would throw anyone who badmouthed her friends out a tenth story window, especially if that friend was Crona.

Those girls wouldn't have said anything if the three of them were in earshot of Crona's friends. Though...she didn't know why she was so surprised...perhaps...just perhaps, it was because she had thought things would be different...somehow all her past sins would be forgotten and forgiven because Mako had purified her soul, but...those were such...foolish thoughts.

Sitting in Miss. Corner she tried to just forget about what those girls had said to her after class. They were just bullies. So...why did thinking about it make her want to cry harder? It didn't matter what they said...the simple fact of the matter was...Crona _couldn't _die.

Believe her, she'd wanted to so many times before...back before she ever met Mako...before things got kind of nice. The horrible training, the barbaric punishments and bullying, as well as the starvation, relentless fear...all those unspeakable experiments...

It'd all became too much...she couldn't deal with her father's efforts to make a kishin anymore...so at the age of twelve...she slit her wrists...

Sadly, her desires and attempts to die were useless since her father, Medus, had made her so that she _wouldn't _die. The black blood and her weapon partner kept her alive. She knew from experience that getting shot, stabbed, cut, poisoned, hanged, and burned were all ineffective. Even once when she fell from a tall building the blood had hardened and formed an internal armor around her bones, nerves, ligaments, organs, etcetera so that only her skin got badly bruised and scraped, but the blood was able to heal that as well. You see? Her efforts were always counteracted. Suicide wasn't an option just as dying by another's hand wasn't an option.

Professor Stein was probably the only person who ever came close enough to killing her and that was just because of how well the teacher had used her soul wavelength against Crona during their short-lived battle...no, it was more like a scuffle. Battles were long and hard fought with the tide always shifting from one person to the other until victory was claimed by one contender.

Anyway, the main point being that Crona could not accept death as an escape. Before life had been forced upon her, she had lived as a tool, but now she actually...truthfully...wanted to live. No, death certainly was not an option.

Especially now...she had people to live for...someone...she actually wished to live for...but whenever she thought about it...did they really care? Would they even notice she was missing? She sniffled, ridding herself of such thoughts. Of course her friends cared for her! Those girls were just being cruel. Crona nodded to herself, silently confirming it. They were just–

"Crona?"

Blinking she looked up, feeling a blush arise, her eyes slowing the leakage of tears, surprised her voice dropped to a whisper, "Mako..."

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kneeling down in front of his friend the blond boy gave her a soft smile. His dark green eyes were concerned, yet comforting at the same time. Crona's blush darkened as her gaze dropped. She always felt so strange whenever he came around any more.

Was it because he was the first person to deal with her? The first person to be her friend? Or was it because she was allergic to him? No, that couldn't be the case! She would die if she were allergic to Mako! He was her friend, her first friend, and the only person who seemed to visit her whenever he had the chance...because he cared...about her. Mako was the first person to care for her, the first to show her physical contact didn't have to hurt, he was the first person willing to drag her out of her room and around the academy alongside Mr. Mare while everyone else were either annoyed or too busy to think much of her.

"Crona? Why are you crying?"

"I...um...I'm just...feeling s-sad."

"Sad, eh? Maybe you should come outside. Syd told me you've been locked in here for a few days now. Why don't you come outside with me and the others? Blue*Star and Sola teamed up again. They wanna try creaming me at softball since they've already beaten me in basketball and soccer. We're having a girls vs. boys game. If you want you could be on their team and afterwards if the stakes they make this time aren't that bad then maybe I could take you to get ice cream?"

"I-I don't know how to deal with playing softball."

"Yeah," Mako chuckled softly. "I don't know how to either. I mean, I got a book on it, but...I don't think I'll be too good at it."

"A-are you st-still going to play?"

"Maybe...do you want to try playing?"

"I guess-"

"Don't answer that!" A shrill, yet unmistakably feminine voice snapped. Crona squeaked at her partner's sudden appearance, whimpering a bit when she felt her weapon fist her hair.

"Oh." Mako blinked. He smiled nicely though, in spite of how he really wanted to scowl at the chibi weapon, eye twitching a bit as he greeted her arrival, "Hi, Raraka."

"You back off, pervert! I know what you're wanting and you're not getting any from her so beat it!"

"What are you t-talking about?"

"Never mind her, Crona, she's just being a pervert." Mako said, losing his friendly appearance as he helped the other meister to her feet. "Trust me, she doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Yeah right!" The dark weapon scoffed. Her cartoonish eyes stared at Mako with an odd mixture of contempt and doubt. Of course he only saw anger, but Crona noticed the other emotions stirring within her as well. "You're such a perverted bastard! I knew it the second you took this nitwit in!" She laughed bashing one of her small round fists against Crona's skull in a playful manner. It still hurt Crona though. "She's a skinny, useless, little nothing! There's just one use you could have for her, which means you're just a filthy pervert!"

"Why is it so hard for you to believe I'm just her friend?!"

"C-can we go now?"

Raraka stared down at her meister, grip tightening on her hair, "Where are you going exactly?"

"Crona don't-"

"Mako is taking me outside to play softball with our friends."

"Softball, huh?" The dark weapon seemed to give that a moment of thought before she looked back down at her meister. "Hey, stupid, you'd better not let him get a homerun!"

"A...wh-what?"

"Homerun! Don't let this bastard take it or I'll bitchslap you like there's no tomorrow!"

"O-okay, but...what's that?"

"It's code, dumbass!" She got smacked upside her head a good one then by the short tempered weapon who huffed, tugging on her cheeks until she was swatted away by an annoyed Mako. He was rather exasperated with her pestering and it hadn't even been an hour yet. Raraka lashed out at him for attempting to stop her from her harsh teasing. Nevertheless, the weapon was quick to turn her thoughts back to her meister.

"Or do I need you to spell it out for you?! He. Wants. To. Screw. You!"

"That's not true!" Mako shouted, flushing. "Crona and I are _just _friends! Why do I have to tell this to everybody?!"

Raraka laughed at how flushed his face had gotten.

"M-Mako?" Crona murmured.

He softened his tone, turning to her then with a tremulous smile, "Yes?"

"Do you like me?"

"Yes...but only as a friend! I swear!"

"Oh...okay." She turned her gaze downward for a moment. "Are we still going to play soiftball?"

"Sure, c'mon." Mako smiled, taking her hand in his.

"I bet you'll strike out with the first move you make." Raraka snickered, withdrawing back inside her meister who squeaked a bit at her sudden departure. Crona didn't want to pay her weapon any mind but it was kinda hard to when she made some good points. Mako was really nice to her, nicer than anyone else had ever been, and he spent time around her, bought her gifts, took her places, hugged her...hugs were the best part of being his friend...plus he took her away from Miss. Corner to hang out every so often, which was a bittersweet experience since she usually had fun with her friends but poor Miss. Corner was left alone. Ah well. She could use some time to herself especially since Miss. Corner and Crona were together a lot of the time when she wasn't doing anything and aside from classes, missions, and the occasional trip outside with one of her friends she really didn't do much. Anyway, point being, Crona was starting to think that maybe...just maybe...Mako did like her more than just a friend after all. None of her other guy friends in their main group Tsubaki, Lizer, or Pat seemed to show her as much interest as Mako did. Well...Lizer and Pat more or less drug her around along with Kid to help dress her up, joke around, and snap photographs that usually embarrassed her. Crona was sure they still had a picture of her in a pink dress somewhere on one of their cell phones...

The Thompson brothers more or less just succeeded in making her feel like their meister's doll or like a guy sometimes, especially when Pat asked if she were really a girl. It seemed obvious to her...especially since she had originally told Mako she didn't know how to deal with guys, granted she didn't know how to really deal with girls her age either.

Still, didn't she _look _like a girl? Each time she looked in the mirror of her room her answer was always a big 'yes'; however, everyone else seemed to just think 'whatever' and let themselves get confused over it. That issue aside...

Tsubaki was nice and all, sometimes protective like he was with Blue*Star, but he was more like a big brother figure to Crona. Mako wasn't like any of that. He was super nice and made her feel special. It wasn't the sort of special her father had made her feel, as though she were a freak or test subject, or how some of the teachers or smart students made her feel, but it was a different sort of special that left her heart thumping wildly and her head feeling lighter than air. The fact he held her hand as they headed off to the city park made her cheeks flush and heart race. Maybe he did like her a lot, just maybe...Raraka was right.

"Hey, Crona?"

"Hmm? Oh, s-sorry...I sp-spaced out f-for a m-minute."

"I know," Mako chuckled, wrapping an arm around her scrawny shoulders, "I kinda figured that out when you didn't answer my question." Crona blushed, whimpering as she tried to hide her face in her hands. "Hey, it's okay!" Mako assured. "Don't get upset! It's okay, Crona, don't start crying on me."

"I-I'm s-sorry."

"It's okay. No harm no foul, right?"

"I-I guess."

"So...do you know your measurements?"

"Wh-why?"

"Well, for starters if you wanna play softball then you need to get fitted with the right gear. Secondly, Blue*Star's going to most likely pitch to you during warm ups so you'll need the proper head protection."

"Oh. Um, I-I don't kn-know my measurements."

"That's okay. I can probably just ask Kid since you guys have been shopping together before."

Nodding Crona let Mako and Kid get her the gear and outfit she needed. She was then taken aside by Kid and her two weapons and shoved into a changing room alongside Blue*Star, Sola, and Kid who joined them once she found the perfect gear. Crona was rather nervous about changing around them, especially since Blue*Star and Sola kept whispering between each other, staring at her. In the end Kid shoved her into a stall so she could change her clothes in private. When she came out she wore the same white and black softball uniform as the other girls wore. Blue*Star was number one, of course, according to Sola she pitched a fit about it so the boys let her take her desired number just as they let Kid be number eight whilst Sola gladly accepted being number four. Crona noticed how she, herself, wore the number seven. They certainly were a mixed up lot.

"Originally," Sola explained, "we were to be the first four, but because of some people," she glanced over to Kid and Blue*Star, "the numbers got all mixed up."

"Wh-why am I s-seven," Crona said, staring down at her chest where the number seven was as well as on her back, "wh-when I d-didn't make a b-big deal over it?"

"Probably cause the guys all called a number and seven was left over so that's what they bought you. Or...Pat is trying to screw with Kid's mind."

That's when Crona noticed how intently Kid was staring at her.

"Seven..." the girl muttered, sweating nervously, as she stared. "That's...evil..."

"Relax, Kid," Sola chuckled, "she's on our side!"

"Yeah!" Blue*Star snapped, giving her a big smile though her eyes held some sort of competitiveness Crona couldn't begin to understand. "And you'd better not do anything to screw up my chances of winning that awesome prize!"

Kid stared back at her calmly, unfazed by the look she was getting, "It's...just some of Tsubaki's cooking."

"Oh," Crona mumbled timidly, "that sounds good."

"Hell yeah it is!" Blue*Star shouted. "And I'm gonna win it! Besides, they have Mako on their team and he sucks ass at sports! We'll kick those boys' asses, win the bet, and claim victory!"

"Plus lunch." Sola added.

"Wh-what's the bet?"

"We haven't decided yet." Sola confessed, staring at the pinkette with a toothy grin. "We'll figure it out before we start playing."

"It'll be awesome! Don't worry about it, Crona! There is no way we'll lose especially with me as team captain!"

"Excuse me, Blue*Star," Kid interrupted pointedly, "I don't recall anyone making you team leader."

"Oh really? Then let's take a vote. Anyone think Kid, here, should be team leader?" Kid lifted her hand confidently followed by Crona who lifted a timid hand, avoiding eye contact with Blue*Star who sighed. "Okay...that's two votes for stupid Kid." Blue*Star huffed. "Now, who thinks I'll make an awesomely amazing, fantastic leader?" Both she and Sola raised their hands, causing a tie, and forcing numbers seven and eight to stand together across the room as they tried to think of a tie breaker.

"How about we do a coin toss?" Sola suggested. She got her jacket from the bench she'd left it on and pulled a nickle from one of the pockets. "Kid could be tails and Blue*Star could be heads. How does that sound? It's totally legit and should take only a second."

"You mean we should leave it to chance?" Kid quirked a brow at this.

"Hell yeah!" Blue*Star cheered. "Chance loves me! But tossing some coin is just lame. Think of something more interesting!"

Sola sighed, putting the coin back in her pocket before leaning over to whisper, "You idiot! That was a two headed coin! You'd have totally won!"

"Really?" Blue*Star gaped at her. She slapped her forehead then crossed her arms huffing, "Why didn't you say something before?"

"Maybe we could draw straws?" Crona then suggested. "It's still chance, but...we don't toss anything."

"Where would we get the straws?" Sola questioned.

"Oh...right." the pinkette mumbled. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Kid reassured, putting a reassuring hand on the pinkette's shoulder, "it was a good idea."

"No," Blue*Star disagreed, "it was another lame idea! And besides, how do I know you wouldn't have cheated so Kid would win? For all we know all the straws except one could be the same length!"

"Hey," Kid shouted, "don't accuse her of anything! She's just trying to help!" Crona stared at her, wide-eyed. She certainly hadn't expected Kid, of all people, to stand up for her.

"Yeah, I know," Blue*Star growled, "she's helping you win!"

"I don't hear you coming up with anything!" the reaper snapped. "You want this position so badly then why don't you think of something?"

"I-"

That's when there was a knock at the door. Blue*Star shouted for them to come in and sure enough Tsubaki took a timid step in, sighing in relief at seeing the girls were all dressed and ready to go. He was about to ask what was the hold up when his meister interrupted him. "Oh fuck!" the assassin squealed from where she stood. "This is such great timing! Tsubaki tell Kid I'm a better team leader than she is!"

"I...wait," Tsubaki looked between the pairs of girls on either side of the room, "is that what's taking you so long?"

"Duh!" Blue*Star rolled her eyes.

"Yes." Kid replied.

"Sadly." Sola sighed.

Crona just nodded.

"I don't think I want to get involved in this." he said with a nervous smile, stepping back. Blue*Star then charged forwards and grabbed him by the front of his uniform. She got up in his face shouting, "Too fucking late, Tsubaki! Fate brought you here to make me this team's leader! Now vote for me!"

"Wait," Kid interjected, "I don't think this is fair. Tsubaki is your weapon so he shouldn't have a say in this."

"Yeah? Well then neither Lizer or Pat should either."

"Fair enough."

"Then who'll be the tie breaker?" Sola asked.

"Um...how about M-Mako?" Crona suggested timidly.

"That's a good idea."

"Sounds cool."

"Yeah!" Blue*Star agreed. "The first one to get Mako wins!"

"G-get him?" Crona squeaked, unsure if she liked that idea. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Tackle him! Hit him! Touch him! _Get _him! Like if we were tagging someone or something."

"Okay, let's go!"

"N-no, wait I didn't mean-" It was too late. Blue*Star was off. Kid summoned Beelzebub, allowing Crona to get on with her, and then off they went leaving Tsubaki and Sola standing alone.

Elsewhere, Mako sat reading a book on a bench while his other two teammates stood off a couple yards from the bleachers. Lizer was watching Pat who was talking about how he was going to send a baseball into orbit only for his brother to then correct him and say it was a softball. There was a short lived argument on what made the two sports so different before Pat was distracted with his practice swings, which were suddenly aimed at a butterfly that happened to float by. The elder of the two seemed to find this idea most amusing. Smiling softly as he watched his brother's expression become blank as he noticed something off in the distance that made him drop his bat. "Hmm?" Lizer noticed how uncharacteristically still his brother had gotten. "Hey, Pat, what's up with you?"

"Kid and Blue*Star are racing again!" Pat chuckled, watching as the two opponents neared at a breakneck speed.

"Huh?" Turning Lizer gave a cry at seeing the two girls were fast approaching. "Get down!" he tackled Pat to the ground just as the two passed over them with enough force that Lizer's hat came flying off and the bat Pat had been messing with flew away along with it.

Giggling the younger brother stood up and cheered for Blue*Star in a manner that seemed rather aggressive. "You do realize we should be cheering for Kid, right?" Lizer questioned, kneeling on the ground with some beads of sweat dripping down his face.

"Huh? Oh right. Sorry, bro, I got carried away! Go kick her fine ass Kid!"

"Ugh, forget it." Lizer sighed. "Hey, where'd my hat go?"

Glancing up from his book Mako gave a cry of panic at seeing Kid and Blue*Star fast approaching. Jumping from the bleachers he tucked, ducked, and rolled on the ground. He cringed a few moments later at hearing the sound of crashing and crunching metal when the two girls impacted. A trio of cries followed as a body was then thrown from the wreckage and landed on the scythe meister's back with a hard, "Oof!" winding him a bit as he lay on the hard ground.

Blushing Crona stared down at the boy beneath her. "S-sorry, Mako." she said, as she climbed off, kneeling beside him to check and see if he was all right. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm...fine, Crona," Mako assured, sitting up, holding his aching head while he tried to get his breathing under control, "don't...don't worry...about it."

"Are you sure? You look hurt!" She grabbed his face, which was bruising and cut up, small trickles of blood running down his face. "Your face is all scraped up and you're bleeding an-"

"I'm fine, Crona, really!" He insisted, pushing her hands away. "Don't worry! I'm tougher than I look, remember?"

"I know," the pinkette sobbed, holding her face in her hands, "but this is my fault! If I hadn't s-suggested you be the t-tiebreaker then this wouldn't have h-happened and you wouldn't be h-hurt and you w-wouldn't hate me now!"

"Shh, shh, it's okay." Mako assured, as he wiped her tears away, speaking to her as kindly as he could after all that had happened. "I don't hate you, Crona. In fact it's quite the opposite."

"Wh-what do you m-mean by that?"

"I-"

"OH, YEAH!" Blue*Star blurted out then, interrupting Mako who turned to glare at her in annoyance. "I FREAKING WON, BITCH!" She shouted triumphantly, obnoxiously, in Kid's face. Her cheering continued for two more seconds before Kid gave her a taste of reality, "No, actually _I _won. Crona was on my side and she touched Mako first so I am the team leader. End of story."

"What? That's so bogus!"

"Yo, girls," Lizer called, walking up alongside Pat who was playing with his brother's hat, "are we going to play some ball or what?"

"Fuck yes!" Blue*Star replied excitedly. "But how about we amp up the stakes?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean let's bet that in advance to the winner getting free lunch they also get five hundred bucks each from the losers' wallets! And the losers have to slowly undress in front of the winners and make out with each other!"

"What?!" Kid, Crona, and Sola, who'd just appeared with Tsubaki, all gasped in horror at this bet Blue*Star was trying to make.

"Oh wow..." Mako touched his nose, feeling a bit of blood starting to drip causing him to blush darkly whilst the other guys were just staring wide-eyed with their mouths dropped opened at the blue-haired girl, silently imagining what that could look like if the opposite gender lost.

"You do realize there is chance we'll lose, right?" Kid snapped, disliking this bet greatly. Blue*Star just shrugged and laughed, apparently too confidant to even conceive that possibility, especially since she was too busy thinking of what it'd be like to see her weapon partner making out with the younger of Kid's two partners. That was such a hot image!

Hell yes she wanted to make this bet! However, there was no way Kid was agreeing to that and Sola had the same sentiments, growling and looking ready to kill her friend for even suggesting that idea. Crona could only blush and stare in repulsion at the blue-haired girl. She didn't want to even _think _of what it would be like to do that. It was embarrassing enough changing clothes in front of the same gender. There was just no way in hell, not even if the place was fucking _freezing _over, the pinkette thought she'd ever be comfortable undressing for the amusement of the opposite sex.

Her fingers twitched. She resisted the urge to summon Raraka and let the other girls take care of this. Sure enough they did. Kid looked ready to kill and Sola was practically screaming her lungs out as she recited all the reasons why that was a bad idea and sure enough Blue*Star laughed it all off only to cave in the end at seeing how badly outnumbered she was on this matter. She was a generous friend and merciful goddess after all.

"All right fine!" Blue*Star said, as she shoved Sola away, gave Crona a reassuring smile, and ignored Kid completely. "Let's change that. The loser has to spend an entire night in Excalibur's cave." Everyone present then made the look widely known as the 'Excalibur face' and shuddered at the thought of having to stay with that freaky thing for an entire night. The consequences were cruel and unusual, even so everyone present reluctantly agreed and the game was then underway.

**2 Hours Later**

Crona stumbled to the sidelines, bleeding and panting hard. Mako hadn't been kidding about Blue*Star during the warm ups, but she wished he'd said something about Pat.

He was a freaking killer! He'd just tagged her out yet it felt like she'd gotten struck by a brick and _she _knew without a doubt what that felt like! It was quite painful and this time around she was glad she got to rest, wiping some of the black blood from her face as the wounds all healed and she sipped on some water. She stared at the final score, somewhat happy it was a tie, but not too happy with how Blue*Star was still keeping the game going.

"Hey," glancing up Crona stared at Mako who was no longer in uniform, "you want to get changed and get out of here before they drag you back in?"

Nodding she let him lead her to the changing rooms. He waited outside for her while she switched from her uniform to her usual clothes then joined him outside, having left the softball clothes and gear inside, considering she didn't care much about it, it seemed like a good idea.

"So, are you in the mood for ice cream? Or do you want to do something else?"

"Something else? Like...what?"

"I don't know...let's just stick to getting ice cream for now."

"That sounds good."

Nodding he led her off to the nearest store where he got her a vanilla cone and he took a strawberry one. They sat on a bench near the park to eat their frosty treats, but Crona only got two licks in before Raraka appeared and wrapped her long, slimy tongue around the cone just above Crona's hand then in one motion jerked it up and into her mouth. "Hey!" Crona stared up at her weapon with large, sad eyes as her ice cream vanished save for the bits and pieces that fell from her partner's mouth and onto her face.

"Raraka! That was uncalled for!"

"Blame yourself, shorty, you didn't get me any."

"D-don't listen to her, Mako, she'd have t-taken mine e-even if you ha-had got her one, t-too."

"I know," he sighed, glaring at the ground, "but she doesn't have to act so badly towards you."

"It's okay. I'm u-used to it."

"That's right! And besides, this fat ass doesn't need any sweets! Look at her, every inch of her is scrawny except her ass! It's freaking huge!" She laughed watching as Crona's eyes grew wide and she squirmed where she sat, now self-conscious about her butt since her partner had just now decided to point it out. _Great_. One more thing she needed to feel bad about. Blushing she scooted away from Mako for a moment, worried that he would suddenly notice and dislike her. "Y-you really th-think it's f-fat?"

"Hell yes!"

"Oh..."

"Don't listen to her, Crona, from what I see it's perfectly fine."

Crona blushed darkly as she let those words sink in. "Y-you...look at it?" she whispered, surprised to hear those words coming from Mako, of all people. She'd never expected him to notice something like that about her body.

Apparently he didn't want her to know. This became evident when his eyes widened and face flushed to match the shade of red Crona's face had taken on. Mako swallowed, now nervous that he realized just what he'd said, practically admitted, to not only Crona, which was bad enough, but to Raraka as well!

"Ha!" Said weapon cackled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Caught you, pervert! I knew it! You ogle Crona all the time, don't you? I bet you have all kinds of weird fantasies about doing some freaky shit to this dumb bitch!"

"Mako...is that true?"

"No...I mean...not like she's making out! I do like you...you're my friend, but...this is just so hard to explain!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...I...dammit, Crona, this is just too freaking hard! Look...I think I might...I mean, I know for a fact that I...well...it's not something a guy can just outright say like they make out in books, but..." pausing he took a deep breath, holding Crona's hands in his own and staring into her timid eyes as she blushed and stared back at him, and then he let the three words slip smoothly from his mouth, "I love you."

He let her go then and took a step back seeming uneasy. Maybe he was waiting for her rejection or just to see if she would bother sticking around to deal with this situation. She let this sink in for a moment, as her brain tried to wrap around the logic. Mako...loved her...he just said...he loved her, her of all people! It made her feel so...so happy! When had been the last time she gave a genuine smile? Surely not that long ago, but still...she was sure that it was a good sign for her to smile especially since her heart was swelling and filling up, brimming with a powerful emotion she could only imagine was love.

"Crona?"

"Do you really mean it? You like me? Even though I'm a worthless freak and don't matter?"

"What? Crona, no...who told you these things?"

"Bullies...not Raraka, of course, sh-she tried to scare them off! But...they're right...you don't deserve to be with someone like me. You deserve someone cool like Sola or refined like Kid. Or someone as strong as Blue*Star, but not somebody like me!"

"In case you haven't noticed, Crona, Sola and I are more friends than anything else, Kid is nice but a little annoying with her...quirks...and it's not like Blue*Star needs a boyfriend. She can take care of herself just fine."

"I can too!"

"I know, but you're not a jerk like she can be. You're not tiresome or perverted, and unlike what others like to believe you're not a monster. You're a very thoughtful, very gentle, girl." Pausing he took a deep breath, smiling as his green hues met her bright orbs nervously. "Now...I've opened my heart to you...what do you think?"

"I...don't know. I've hoped for this, but...now it's happening...I-I don't know...how to deal with all this happiness! I-I don't know what to do, Mako!"

Chuckling, Mako couldn't help himself from laughing. Crona was too cute. She was so happy, yet so freaked out at the same time, as she started squirming, acting somewhat jittery, and embarrassed. It was a bit funny considering how shy and timid she usually was. "You idiot!" Raraka scoffed, smacking her meister. "You're screwing this entire thing up!"

"I am?!" her voice cracked and Mako couldn't keep himself from chuckling. This earned him a confused stare from Crona and a scathing glare from Raraka even though she had also been smiling a few seconds beforehand.

"No," Mako said, smiling as his laughter came to a halt, "no, Crona, this is perfect. All you have to do is tell me how _you _feel. Whatever you say will be okay."

"W-well, I can't describe it exactly...I-I guess...the only w-way is to s-say...I love you, too." She felt so happy to get it out, as though it'd taken a ton of weight off her rapidly beating heart. She was just so happy to say that, so happy that Mako felt the same way about her. Never before had she thought she'd be unable to deal with so much happiness, but here she was not sure if she was going to be able to handle so much of it.

Mako smiled at those words, staring at the pinkette lovingly, though was caught off guard when she was shoved forwards. Their lips connected briefly before Crona pulled back, blushing darkly.

"Raraka!"

"What? It was your cue to kiss!"

"That was so-umph!"

Crona was cut off as she was pulled back in for another kiss, returning it while her weapon snickered, watching in amusement while the pinkette kissed back, melting into Mako's strong hold. "Score!" Raraka cheered as the two meisters parted. Crona gave a breathy chuckle whilst Mako grinned a bit and held her hand tightly in his own.

**The End.**


End file.
